ONEONTA _ Two longtime area environmental advocates and several county organizations were honored during the annual meeting of the Otsego County Conservation Association.
There were about 85 people in attendance at the event held Friday at Stella Luna Ristorante in Oneonta.
Robert and Jean Miller were honored as the 2009 Conservationists of the Year for lifetime devotion to environmental concerns.
"We are very honored and very surprised," said Jean Miller, who had been president of the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society for 13 years and is still on the board of directors.
Her husband, Robert Miller, was a chemistry professor at Hartwick College, but "at heart he is an ornithologist," said local Audubon vice president, Andrew Mason, who presented the couple's award.
Robert Miller edited the group's newsletter for more than 30 years, only recently giving up the job last year.
"I learned how important science was from Miller," Mason said. "You need good data to be successful in conservation."
Among his efforts, he has kept records of bird arrivals at Goodyear Lake for more than 60 years, Mason said. Through all of Miller's efforts, "he contributed more to bird life in Otsego County than any one person," Mason said.
She grew the local Audubon Society into an "involved organization" and was instrument in the acquisition of its sanctuary on Franklin Mountain, Mason said.
"Bob and Jean have lived a life together that we all can emulate," he said.
Three groups received recognition from OCCA President Martha Clarvoe for community efforts.
The Butternut Valley Alliance began in 2008 through an effort spearheaded by husband and wife, Ben Friedman and Carla Hall Friedman. They accepted the award with the group's executive director, Robert Eklund, who said, "It will be a boost to the volunteers to know their efforts have been recognized."
These efforts included not only an examination of water quality and the impact of proposed local gas drilling, but also an effort to promote locally grown produce at the Morris Farmers' Market.
Kristen Griger, coordinator of the Cooperstown Elementary School's Kid Garden, said, "It has been fun to watch students learn to raise food and enjoy eating it," through the organic gardening project. She pledged to work hard to make the program grow.
County Representative Martha Stayton, D-Oneonta, accepted the award for Sustainable Otsego. The group, which was formed in 2007 under the leadership of Adrian Kuzminski of Fly Creek, addressed the issues of horizontal gas drilling in the county through educational lectures, among its efforts noted by Clarvoe.
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